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Ohio Supreme Court narrows state's sex offender residency restriction

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this official press release, the "Supreme Court of Ohio held today that, because a 2003 state law barring certain sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of a school does not expressly provide that its provisions apply retrospectively, the statute does not apply to an offender who bought his home and committed his crime before the law took effect."  Notably, as the press release goes on to explain, this fancy bit of statutory interpretation has allowed the Ohio Supreme Court to avoid some tougher issues: Because the Court found that the residency statute does not apply retroactively, the justices did not reach or decide the issue of whether such a law, if expressly made retroactive by the legislature, would violate the Ohio Constitution?s prohibition against retroactive laws that infringe on an individual?s substantive right...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).